<p>Hello,
I took the April 8th ACT, and I did not do good on it at all. I did take a practice test out of the Real ACT Prep book, and I got around a 30 on it. When I took the test on the 8th, I got a 22 :(. Was the April 8th test one of the harder tests that you have seen?</p>
<p>I am currently #1 in my class, have taken Pre-Cal, Chem, AP Chem, APUSH, AP Lang, have an unweighted GPA of 4.0, weighted of 4.28. The ACT is the only thing that I am really worried about. I am not sure why I do so bad, some of my friends have got 32's their first tries, and they didnt even really worry about it. Maybe I am worrying about it too much.</p>
<p>What else can I do to improve? I think I have a good grasp on the math. I thought I had a good grasp on the English, but I got a 23 on it when I took it (I cant remember missing more than 3, but obviously I was missing something). The reading is what killed me, what can I do to improve, other than practice, since I have been/am doing that. Thanks
Patrick</p>
<p>Ok. Breathe. I am in a situation just like you, ok? It's not uncommon for smart kids to be bad test-takers; trust me. I have taken the ACT three times: 1. 23 2. 23 3. 25. I need a 27+ and time is running out; I am a junior. My brother, who has taken the ACT for the first time in April, made a 29. A 29! Do you know how I felt? Bad. I am the one who works hard for my grades, the one who struggles, the one who deserved that 29, but it was his, not mine. Suddenly, I thought to myself...hey you raised your score by two points. That's an improvement. It's not that not the fact that I did worse than my brother, it's the fact that I improved and improvement leades to success. I am in all AP and honors classes, I am labled "gifted," I have a 3.9 (unweighted GPA), yet my peers have significantly higher test scores than me. Like I said, it's not uncommon. You know what? I made a 23 in math also, and I am in precalculus. I want to be a math teacher, and I made a higher score in English than math. It's frustrating, but it's gonna get better. I have heard the same conversation I am giving to you like a 10000 times, and I always get so sad. On this last ACT I just took the test, no studying and improved. With you and I, I think it's just bad karma. We need to relax. I think that if you studied and just relaxed on the next test, you will be fine. It'll be ok. Who cares what the others have made? You are not them; I am not them. You are in charge of your own destiny, and one part of making yourself successful is recognizing your faults.</p>
<p>PS I would recommend AMSCO'S PREPARING FOR THE ACT MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE. I ordered one because I heard that it can raise one's math score significantly. It goes through every possible concept on the mathematics test.</p>
<p>Well...for the reading subscore i got a 36 for the feb test and a 35 for the april...heres what I do...</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Read the entire passage...but quickly...probably no more than a few minutes for the reading...if theres a vocab word or concept i dont understand...i dont bother stopping to figure it out...the main point for me to skim the passage like this is to get the overall direction of the passage...which helps me w/ those tone/overall passage questions...</p></li>
<li><p>Then I get into the questions...what I do here is I read the q and if its easy ill just answer it straightaway...but if its a tougher q then usually itll give some specific line references and i go back to those lines to read them over...and if I still have no clue I mark in a random answer, make a question mark by the question in the test book, and move on(so that if I run out of time i dont have to run back to fill in)</p></li>
<li><p>then when Im done w/ all the passages I go back to the ones w/ the random answers and I slowly figure them out one by one...</p></li>
</ol>
<p>anyway...i hope this helps...i know that other people have strategies where they dont even read the passage at all in the beginning in order to save time...but I find that the quick skim really helps w/ those tone questions...you'll definetly wanna try out the diff methods by yourself to find what works best...good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I think I have just had bad luck. Its not that I am a bad test taker, it is more that I didnt get what I was expecting. I usually ace all tests I take. As far as math goes, I know I can get a perfect score, I usually just make stupid mistakes. On the practice test I took, I missed 1 math problem. The practice test was MUCH easier than the April 8th ACT, but I am guessing it will be about equal when I take it on the 26th. I just need to keep my mind focused on reading. I will keep you updated on my score, I know I can do it.</p>
<p>Umm...Looks like a case of overachieveritis. Did you ever think that you might just go to a really bad school and that you aren't as smart as you think when compared to the nation instead of just your school? Just because you have a high GPA doesnt mean you are smart...it usually means that you try way too hard. Good luck, though.</p>
<p>what makes u think his grammar is bad? (other than his scores if thats wut ur talking about) grammar is unimportant on the intenret unless it makes u too hard to understand</p>
<p>Having a high ACT score doesn't guarantee success either. My cousin made a 22 on the ACT, and she is making Straight A's at Texas Tech. Let's stop the negative comments, ok? Some people are perfectly capable of excelling in college without an above-average test score. Patrick, I bet you will do fine on your ACT tests in the future.
<3</p>
<p>I never said it guaranteed success. To be quite honest with you, two years from now (I assume you are a junior), NO ONE will care what you got on your ACT/SAT. However, I still believe that my earlier statement still carries some weight, though not necessarily with Patrick.</p>
<p>Yes, I am #1 in my class, and I do realize if I went to a "better" school, I may not be. But I know quite a few kids who are pretty much geniuses yet they cant work fast. They can do the work and solve the problems, but they cant do it while being rushed. Maybe my poor ACT scores shows something about our school. I will improve tomorrow.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Just because you have a high GPA doesnt mean you are smart...it usually means that you try way too hard.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Colleges often put as much if not more weight on GPAs than they do the ACT/SAT test scores. So, as a matter of fact, no, you cannot possibly try too hard. </p>
<p>In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a college thinks just as highly of a person with a low ACT/SAT score yet extremely high GPAs as they would of a person with a high ACT/SAT score and mediocre GPAs. It shows that they didn't just casually stroll through school, but rather worked their butts off in order to accomplish what they did. That might say something about the kind of determination that person would put forth in their schoolwork at the college.</p>
<p>Don't think that's the case with the OP though.. sounds like he may have just had a bad testing day.</p>
<p>Hi, I am new to this board! Mt Son just took the ACT for the first time in April. He scored a 12. We are still tying to figure out what happened. He attends a College prep high school and his grades a good. About a B- average. He does suffer from test anxiety and told us that he became very nervous and everything went blank. We are trying to get him accomidations for extended time for the next ACT. He aslo has ADD/innetentive type. But has no real issues with that. We have already enrolled him in an ACT prep class. He will retake the test in June. If anyone could offer any suggestions, I would welcome anything at this time. He desperatly wants to go to college.... Thank you in advance</p>
<p>I would say get him a ACT prep book...(The Real ACT Prep Guide) and let him practice from it under timed conditions. The book is made by the ACT people who make the test and this would give him some good practice.</p>
<p>I definatly agree. Get that book and sit down with him. A lot of peoples problems are that they are not forced to study or practice and it's hard to get started on your own. My suggestion: sit him down at the kitchen table, and have atleast a couple full tests ready. Then start slow -- take one test, like the english, for example. Sit him down, set a timer for 45 mins, and have him take it. Then sit down afterwords and determine what you did wrong in every problem. The same stuff/rules are on every test. This should help a lot. (To have an explanation of every problem, get 'The Real ACT Prep Guide') Then I would stop for the day and the next day move onto a different section. Do this for about a week or two and slowly work your way through it, doing a section a day. Being familiar and practicing is key. Best of luck to him!</p>
<p>justamom: Poor performance due to test anxiety sounds more likely, but it is possible there was some sort of scoring error or something. Sometimes bad erasures can cause problems, or maybe your son got "off" on the gridding. If he took the April national test, you could order the test booklet, the answers, your son's answers, and even a photocopy of your son's answer sheet and score it yourself. You can also order a handscore (I believe they refund the fee if the score changes).</p>
<p>Just to warn you: unless your son already receives testing accommodations in school, I doubt ACT will give him extended time. They say they don't give it for test anxiety.</p>